from admiration to love
by kerrykins
Summary: Miranda comes to a realisation about her assistant.


"A girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then. It is something to think of." - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.

Miranda's attention was rapt as she peered out the window at the snow falling softly outside. Powdery white banks lined the roofs of the buildings beneath her, the street cutting through the seemingly infinite field of snow. It was so cool, so serene, and had a calming effect on Miranda. That wasn't much of a shock, the Ice Queen enjoying the snow.

"Miranda, I have those photos you wanted for the Winter Wonderland shoot," a bright voice called tentatively. At the sound of her name, Miranda inclined her head towards the source.

Andrea was making her way over, offering the folder to her. Miranda accepted it, skimming through the contents of it. Her lips tugged into something that was almost a smile. Finally, it was perfect, after seven reshoots. The finished product made up for the time and money that had been poured into it. She nodded in approval, handing it back to the girl, who beamed.

"It's good," Miranda admitted. It was likely one of the magazine's best shoots to date. All that authentic snow, icicles, and unruly fur had been difficult to capture perfectly, the glaring white often drowning out the models. Now, though, not a single hair was out of place, makeup immaculate, and the fur coats gleamed in the icy backdrop.

"I helped Nigel direct the shoot," she said happily. Miranda detected an undercurrent of pride, and arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Andrea, directing a photoshoot? She was surprised, that the smart fat girl had willingly contributed, the girl that supposedly thought fashion was insignificant. Miranda couldn't exactly say she was displeased.

Andrea paled, her glow of contentment fading. "O-oh, I didn't actually do much. Just um. Gave him some pointers and suggestions."

"Well," Miranda purred. "Whatever you did, it worked. Next shoot, you will assist Nigel again." She hated not having Andrea at her side, but the pure terror and shock in the girl's face made up for it, and she smirked.

"Okay... If you want me to," Andrea said cautiously, which issued an eye roll from Miranda.

"Honestly Andrea, if I didn't want you to, I wouldn't have just told you to do it. This isn't a request, it's a demand." Miranda was curious to see how this would go, as she was both impressed and surprised that Andrea had such a knack for this sort of thing. "That's all."

~x~

Miranda waltzed into the office at six o'clock sharp, only to find Andrea reading a book on the ledge of her window. The girl was immersed in her novel, and clearly hadn't heard the editor approach. Miranda was careful to quiet her steps, watching her carefully from a short distance.

Her brow was furrowed endearingly in concentration, eyes shining with a quiet kind of joy as she read. Miranda's heart ached a bit at the sight, not wanting to interrupt. She decided that she could watch Andrea read for eternity and be perfectly satisfied with her life.

Andrea smoothed a stray hair back into place, glancing up. Their eyes met, and Miranda's heart rate accelerated for some odd, inexplicable reason. Those chocolate eyes melted her, and she felt like she was drowning in them. The girl's face broke into another one of those warm smiles, and that might as well broke Miranda.

"Good morning, Miranda," Andrea greeted her mildly, not looking at all peturbed by the fact she'd just been caught. If anything, she seemed amused.

"Andrea." She greeted her with a curt nod of her head. Her gaze roamed over Andrea, taking in every curve of her body and slope in the chiffon dress she wore. It was normal for Miranda to look at her, she did this multiple times a day. She did this with all her assistants and employees. However, she typically paid more attention to the clothes than to the people themselves. This was not the case with Andrea.

Once she had composed herself, Miranda inquired, "What are you reading?" The cover was old, battered, and the gold lettering was faded. But the way the girl held it to her chest made her believe that this book was important to Andrea.

The brunette smiled timidly. "It's Pride and Prejudice . Have you read it?"

Had Miranda read it? Of course, it was one of her favourites. She didn't dare tell Andrea that, though. "Tell me what you think of it."

As if she'd flipped a switch, Andrea lit up like a Christmas tree, babbling a mile a minute. Miranda listened intently, nodding as she spoke. Despite the frantic nature of her words, they were coherent and thoughtful. She pointed out things that Miranda hadn't noticed, providing literary analysis for certain segments of the story. Once she finished, she was a little out of breath, but there was an undeniable shine in her eyes.

"Sorry, that ended up being really long." Andrea laughed nervously. "A solid twenty minutes, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Miranda had enjoyed every second of it. "No need to apologise, there isn't much we can do until everyone arrives. I wasn't expecting you to be here so early. However, I'd like you to fetch some sketches from James Holt as soon as you can. That's all."

Andrea nodded vigorously, then spun on her heel out of Miranda's office. The older woman watched her leave, shaking her head. That girl was a bundle of nervous energy, but it was almost refreshing. Her eyes fell on the window ledge, where the ratty copy of Pride and Prejudice sat. Without thinking, she curled up on the ledge and opened it to the bookmarked page. The yellowed pages were crowded with notes in the margins, sentences underlighted, highlighted, and circled.

Miranda allowed herself to smile as she traced over Andrea's familiar, messy scrawl with a finger. Then she turned her attention to the text, eyes panning over a snippet of a wonderful love story. So many times she'd looked over it, in her youth and adulthood, but now it made it something click in her mind.

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.


End file.
